


Hoofprints in the Snow

by fizumono



Category: Adam (2009), Charlie Countryman (2013), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom, Spacedogs - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Hannistag, M/M, Spacedogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-06-01 17:20:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6529090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizumono/pseuds/fizumono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a story about the forest stag Adam and the mountain stag Nigel ♥ A Spacedogs AU inspired by the awesome Hannistag Hannigram AU created by @camilleflyingrotten  (Spacedogstag...?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [camilleflyingrotten](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=camilleflyingrotten).



Nigel has no idea how long he's been walking in the cold.

Warm blood keeps sipping from between his fingers. Drop by drop, the red liquid drips on to the white snow. With clenched teeth, Nigel tightens his grip on the open wound on his torso. Another wave of pain almost renders him unconscious. 

He's almost there, Nigel drags his heavy feet forward, moving step by step towards a cave that is coming into sight. Some other animals occupying the cave could have him killed the moment he steps into it, but, fuck it, it's better than dying in the open ground buried by the fucking snow.

One of his hooves slips on the icy ground, and his body finally gives in. Nigel falls face first into the snow hard with a thud. Immediately, white-hot pain rushes through his body, and his vision blacks out. 

"Fuck..." Nigel grunts. 

Every cell within him is screaming at him to get up as snow keeps falling from the sky, covering Nigel's skin inch by inch.

It feels like even his winter coat won't keep him warm anymore...

...

 

—

 

The days are getting longer as winter nears its end. 

Urgent hooves tread lightly on the new layer of crisp snow. It's getting colder and colder, even with the protection of his fluffy winter fur, Adam can't help but shivers a little.

There is a snow storm coming. When a storm approaches, the sky looks ominous, Adam knows what the sky looks like before a storm. He is contemplating if the apples in his arms will be enough to last until the storm passes, when he trips over something in the snow and falls face first to the ground, his apples scattered everywhere.

Body coordination has never been one of Adam's strengths, or else his herd would have taken him along when they leave before winter starts. His lack of basic ability to hunt is a burden to others, and his father is no longer here to protect him.

"Ouch." Adam sighs, his knees hurt.

The young stag struggles up as swiftly as he can, and brushes off the snow from his thin legs. When he turns to see what he has tripped over, his whole body freezes.

On the ground, there is a body half buried in snow, the pair of antlers indicates that the body belongs to another stag - A mountain stag, to be exact - Mountain stags are significantly larger than forest stags, Adam's mind automatically registers the colour of the stag's skin, the longer, slightly curly winter fur as well as the strong build of the body. 

In stark contrast with the shimmering white of the snow, there are dried patches of blood all over the place. A dead body, right outside his cave, Adam whines in distress. 

Hearing Adam's voice, the body on the ground makes a grunting noise. 

So he's not dead. Panic rises in Adam's chest, bubbling over until he can't look anymore. He screws his eyes shut, trying hard to calm his mind. He shifts from one leg to the other, his leaflike ears twitch frantically, and in his chest his heart pounds violently.

He can't have an attack right now. 

Adam makes himself cross his arms over his chest and take multiple deep breaths. He looks helplessly back and forth between the stranger and the sky. He's scared, but he doesn't want the stranger to die in the cold. 

The young stag kneels down beside the stranger and slips his arms under the thick shoulders. Taking a deep, deep breath, he pulls the heavy stag off the ground as gingerly as he can. One of the larger stag's strong hands reaches up in reflex, and grabs painfully at Adam's wrist. Adam gives a yelp in pain, but he doesn't let go of the stag. 

"I...I just want to help." Adam tells the stranger in a low voice, tears threatening to fall from his blue eyes.

The stag pry open his eyes, trying to take a look at Adam's face, but before his vision manages to focus, he passes out cold again.

Adam is exhausted by the time he finishes dragging the mountain stag to his den in the deep end of the cave. With the dim light from the outside, Adam observes the wounded animal before him. 

The mountain stag appears to be older, and obviously stronger than Adam. His antlers, unlike Adam's pathetic looking ones, are fully grown and still looking majestic even in this state. Long, unkempt ashen hair dampened with snow, sweat and blood falls over a pair of deep-set eyes with grace, slightly grazing the sharp cheekbones on his face. Half of the soft flap has been brutally torn from the stag's left ear, leaving messy hair caked with dark, clotted blood on the rough edge. Adam examines the body with trembling hands. The poor stag is covered with scars, bruises and cuts, with the particularly ugly looking ragged one slicing across his torso. Maybe it's because of the extreme cold, or the pressure from the iron grip of the stag's own hand, the deep cut have long ceased from oozing more blood. 

It must have hurt...a lot, Adam winces at the imagination of all that the stag has suffered.

With the limited knowledge he learned from his father, Adam tends to the stag's wounds with utmost care and caution. 

The mountain stag grunts angrily in his feverish sleep. He must have been very brave, Adam thinks to himself, and he's the most beautiful stag Adam has ever seen. 

—

For seven days, Adam sacrifices plenty of his waking hours just for tending to the injured mountain stag. He's just starting to get less restless about the disruption of his daily routines on the eighth day when he wakes up in the morning to find the stag already gone. He's probably left the cave silently while Adam is still soundly asleep. Adam hurries out of the cave, but with the fresh layer of snow, there are no hoofprints left for him to follow anymore. 

The mountain stag is gone, without a trace.

"You haven't told me your name." Adam whispers under his breath.

He feels a sadness welling up inside of him, the same sadness as when he was abandoned by his herd and left alone to die in the extreme cold.


	2. Chapter 2

The snow is thawing and spring is on its way. 

In the small hours of the morning, Adam is awakened. Everything in the cave is bathed in warm and gentle sunshine, Adam gets up quickly from his den and stretches his limbs methodically.

"Wow, sun!" He sniffs the sweet, clean air in delight.

He's about to step into open air when he spots something strange lying in front of the entrance to his cave.

There is a dead rabbit on the ground, and neatly placed on top of the soft, brown fur, is a freshly-picked, delicate white hanging flower*. (*Note: C'est un perce neige~!) 

Adam's eyes widened in shocked disbelief. A display of gift...Adam has never received a gift before. Hearing a sudden ruffles of leaves off to his left, he instinctively takes a step back.

A pair of gorgeous antlers emerges from behind the bushes.

"Oh." After getting over the initial surprise, Adam beams shyly. "It's you!"

The mountain stag strides towards Adam with a smug grin upon his face.

"Hello, gorgeous." The husky, deep voice purrs. 

"You are alive." Adam says as he picks the rabbit up from the ground, his nervous fingers clench tight around the flower.

"You've saved my life, little one." The older stag bends and leans forward, he rubs his heavily-stubbled face gently against Adam's, courteously scenting him. 

Adam is sensitive to touch, he jumps in surprise and flinches away with a little scream. The mountain stag immediately backs off, he watches Adam's reaction with deep interest. 

"I did not mean to scare you." he says apologetically to the smaller stag and holds out his hand, "I want to apologise for my behaviour. My name is Nigel, and you are?"

Instead of taking the offered hand, the young stag abruptly places the dead rabbit into the outstretched palm.

Nigel the mountain stag raises his eyebrows in confusion. 

"Adam...My name is Adam. Um, I don't eat rabbits," Adam stiffly says, his eyes lowered, avoiding Nigel's gaze, but there is an almost imperceptible lift of one side of his mouth that almost resembles a smile. "...but um, thank you?"

Nigel, thinking that he has been rejected - very possibly for the first time in his life - is stunned on the spot, speechless.

The silence between them is getting awkward.

"Okay." Adam frowns and nods unsurely, he bites his lips and starts to turn away, "I am very glad that you are still alive, Nigel...Goodbye."

Before Nigel can react, the younger stag is already gone, fled back into the safety of his cave. As much as he wants to follow, it is considered inappropriate to enter another stag's cave without being invited, and he doesn't want to scare the little one further.

Rejected. He has been rejected. Nigel's face darkens, he clicks his tongue against his teeth. 

But for Nigel, what's a little rejection compared to the possibility of everything working out like he wants it to be? 

—

 

In the evening later that day, Adam returns to find Nigel already waiting for him in front of his cave. 

The mountain stag is holding in his arms a huge bunch of wildflowers, an assortment of every colour with every one handpicked by him. He has probably spent an entire afternoon collecting and arranging them. 

"Adam," Nigel calls out fondly, "nice meeting you again."

He hands Adam the flowers with a broad smile, the tips of his canine teeth peeking forth.

"Oh." Adam responds quietly after a delayed pause, his mouth opens and close in awe, "The flowers are beautiful. Um, thank you, Nigel."

All Nigel sees now are Adam's delighted big, blue eyes staring back for the first time (although only briefly).

 _So . adorable_ , Nigel licks his lips.

While Nigel is dazed and cannot speak, Adam hesitantly picks out some of the daisies from the bouquet. 

Daisies are his favourite, Adam put them under his nose and sniffs, inhaling the sweetness. 

Nigel watches, grinning smugly even wider.

Then without a word, Adam put the daisies into his mouth. Nigel's grin freezes, before it begins to fade slowly. A quiet smile still remains on his face as he regards the happy noises Adam is making while chewing a mouthful of fucking flowers.

Noticing that Nigel is staring, Adam is unsure what Nigel wants or what he should say next, so he holds out a few daisies and asks, "Do you want some?" 

The mountain stag, although startled, bends forward obediently and take the daisies into his mouth. Adam feels his warm breath and a flick of wet tongue against his fingers, a blush quickly creeps onto the young stag's pale cheeks. 

"Oh, Adam, darling..." _So . fucking . adorable_. Nigel pulls the smaller stag's body into him, giving him a polite but endearing hug. Large, calloused hand slides gently into the chocolate curls, clever fingers caress the bases of the cute little antlers. Physical contact always makes Adam uncomfortable, but right now, everything feels warm and fuzzy and _good_.


	3. Chapter 3

Spring has come and passed, and the weather is getting warmer. 

There's a faint fragrance of early blossom in the air, Adam sniffs in delight. But then, a mix of unfamiliar scents in the wind alarms him, so he follows it to its source. 

A foreign herd led by a magnificent goat is passing through the woods. 

Adam, being curious but cautious, hides behind tall bushes, observing them quietly. There are a couple of young fawns playing in a big mud puddle, Adam watches them laughing and chasing each other. A wave of sadness and jealousy rises in him. 

Adam has been lonely all his life, sometimes, he wishes things could be different - he could be different...normal.

He's deep in thought when a strong hand grabs his neck painfully and pulls him out from his hiding place.

"What do you think you are doing?" The goat bares his teeth and growls as the kids scatter, screaming.

"I...I..." The very scared Adam struggles against his iron grip, trying to get free. 

“Take your fucking hand off of him before I shatter it.” An angry voice barks from behind them. 

Adam whips around to see Nigel snarling at the goat like a dangerous animal. The goat pauses to consider, but releases Adam reluctantly. He watches in dismay as the young stag hurries to the mountain stag's side. 

Nigel puts an reassuring arm around Adam as if he is his mate. He narrows his eyes at the goat, and his hand balls up into a fist, ready to strike. 

"You are trespassing, goat." Nigel says.

The goat considers the situation. The sky is getting dark, his herd needs to find shelter, and a fight is not what he wants to have right now. 

"We will be leaving soon." The goat says, he casts an angry glare at Adam before turning his back on them both. "You, stay away. Or else."

Adam flinches minutely, but remain silent, it's not until the goat is gone that he realises he is trembling.

"I'm sorry," Adam mutters, "and thank you."

"You have nothing to apologise for, Adam." Nigel frowns and tells him in all seriousness. 

Instead of anger, Adam sees genuine concern in the reddish brown eyes - and a smear of blood on his chin. 

"You have, um, something," Adam points at the corner of his own mouth, "here."

Nigel licks his lips and grins a feral grin, the tip of his sharp teeth are just visible as his lips part. 

"Speaking of which, it's almost time for dinner. Let's go," he urges Adam back to his cave, "I'm fucking starving."

The mountain stag detours briefly to retrieve his kill, before returning to Adam's side. He's carrying a dead stag on his shoulders, the throat of it has been torn out with the precision of an experience hunter. It becomes a habit for Nigel to visit Adam every now and then. The mountain stag soon finds out that Adam does, in fact, eat meat occasionally - but only meat from big preys, never from small, fluffy looking animals. 

Adam watches Nigel wrenching apart the belly of the stag with ease, torn between disgust and fascination. The rich coppery smell in the air is alluring, Adam feels his stomach growling before he hears it. Nigel, with a proud, smug grin, offers Adam the heart on his outstretched palm. Fresh blood keeps dripping warmly down his arm. Adam was the weakest and lowest in hierarchy within his herd, it was never Adam's turn to taste the heart of any big preys his herd slaughtered. Deeply moved, Adam accepts Nigel's heart and cradles it to his chest endearingly. He takes a small, tentative bite, and chews with a thoughtful expression.

"Good?" Nigel tears a chunk of meat off and sits beside Adam.

Adam nods, eyes closing from pleasure. "Mmm...It's delicious, thank you."

"Good." says Nigel, mesmerised by the drops of blood dripping from Adam's slightly stubbled chin. 

After their meal, the two stags lay sated in one another's arms. Nigel rests his head on Adam's tummy, it's so nice and warm and soft. Adam's arm reaches from behind, he glides his fingers slowly on Nigel's chest, enjoying the sensation of rough chest hair springing against his finger pads. 

Nigel still has blood stains on his face, Adam studies the pattern of the almost dried red liquid with his eyes for a long while, before bending down to lick the remaining blood off from Nigel's upside down face. 

"Flip over please." Adam says out of the blue.

Unsure why Adam asks him to do so, but Nigel flips over on to his stomach as instructed nonetheless, and he closes his eyes with anticipation. When he feels Adam's hands against the skin on his back, his breath hitches. 

Adam's hands gently squeeze and knead the muscles along Nigel's thick shoulder blades and down the thick fur that lines the spine.

"Thank you for saving me today." Adam says quietly. 

"Mm-hmm. No problem." Nigel hums, "Sometimes you should defend for yourself, Adam."

"I get kind of overloaded." Adam sighs. 

He remains silent for a long while, focusing his mind solely on the working of his fingers down the flex of tense muscles under the pale fur on Nigel's back, until he remembers something important. 

"Oh, um, Nigel?" Adam says.

"Yes, darling? - Ugh...Yes!" A satisfied groan escapes Nigel's mouth as Adam's skilled fingers work at a stubborn knot in his back. 

"I have something to show you." Adam says with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"What is it?" Nigel asks with a smirk.

"You'll see." Adam says secretively with an adorably smug look on his face, his grey blue eyes glinting with mischief. "Okay, Nigel. Your turn."

Feeling Adam's palm patting him lightly on the back, the older stag sighs but obeys and gets up immediately. His large hands guides Adam down gently. The faint line of lovely fur growing on Adam's back is of the same dark brown colour as his curly hair. It feels so soft and rough at the same time, Nigel can't help but running his palm up and down Adam's back, patting him softly. Before he begins to rub the heel of his hand down the dark fur along Adam's fragile looking spine, he presses a chaste feather kiss on Adam's shoulder. His playful fingers poke at Adam's wagging tail, successfully drawing a cute whine from the younger stag. Nigel chuckles darkly and does it again, watching in glee as Adam shifts his cute, fluffy butt a little more. 

—

 

"Adam, darling?" Nigel squeezes Adam's arm, they've been walking in the dark woods for an uncomfortably long time. "Where the fuck are we going?"

Adam notices that Nigel swears often in conversation, but it comes so naturally that it almost feels right, it's almost...charming. When pointed out, Nigel just shrugs and tells Adam jokingly that all mountain stags talk like that, and Adam regards him with suspicious eyes.

"Shh-shh-shh. Over here." Adam shushes Nigel. 

He waves him over to the edge of a wide clearing in the woods that is coming into sight. When adjusted to the darkness, Nigel can see small, dark shadows moving under the trees, and he squints his eyes. 

"Racoons," Nigel huffs a laugh, "Really, darling?" 

There are about four raccoons searching the forest floor for food, the white tips of the animals' ears are quite visible even in the dark. 

"Yes." Adam's face beams with the most adorable smile. 

The raccoons are fucking fat, Nigel wonders how they taste like, but he keeps the thought to himself. 

"What the fuck are they doing here?" Nigel asks.

"Foraging." Adam answers.

"How did you know where they'd be?" Nigel asks again.

"They live here." Adam tells Nigel as if it's the dumbest question ever without looking away from the animals. "Um, I used to come here a lot, whenever I am sad or angry -"

Nigel remembers Adam telling him about his herd, and how bad he was treated when he was little. If Adam's former herd ever attempted to approach or dare to threaten his sweet Adam again, Nigel would kill for him without the blink of an eye. 

"- but not always for the raccoons." Adam continues, "I come here for the stars." 

"The stars?" Nigel raises an eyebrow.

Adam nods, he takes Nigel by the hand, leading him out to the middle of the vast clearing, and motions for him to look up into the sky. 

There is no moon tonight. Immersed in complete darkness and framed by the circle of trees, the summer night sky is filled with hundreds, indeed thousands of stars. Tiny dots of lights, varying in brightness, stare back at Adam and Nigel like blinking eyes. Adam tilts his face up towards the sky, Nigel has never seen him so relaxed. The view is dazzling. 

"I wish I could touch the stars and hold them in my hand." Adam murmurs.

"They are very far away, darling." Nigel comments.

"Someone once told me that all the stars have their own life, they are born, and then they'll die. Someday everything you see here will disappear forever, and eventually the night sky will be almost completely dark," Adam says, "and all they'll leave behind are their memories in our hearts."

"That's...fucking sad, Adam," Nigel says, he wraps his arm around the smaller stag's shoulders, he places an emotional but adoring kiss on the top of his head.

"Sad? Nononono - You see, from their remains new stars will born...And, and then..." Adam continues. 

Nigel has no idea what the fuck Adam is talking about after that, but he listens patiently anyway, his eyes crinkle and his long ears flickers in amusement upon hearing Adam talking so enthusiastically. 

Adam's voice eventually trails off when Nigel's fingers latches into his hair and tugs his head back gently. With his head tilted backwards, Nigel starts nibbling at his exposed neck playfully until Adam utters the cutest whine in his arm begging him to stop. His lips crack open a sheepish smile and he closes his eyes as Nigel leans in to kiss his lips against the backdrop of the stars. 

Nigel's lips feel nice, he's warm, and surprisingly soft, Adam blushes. 

It's when their antlers clash by accident that they part. 

"Ouch!" Adam giggles while Nigel hisses a laugh. 

The mountain stag pulls the forest stag into a hug and purrs with a deep rumble in his chest.

__

"If I saw you everyday forever, Adam darling, I would remember this time."


	4. Chapter 4

It's a perfect early summer's afternoon. 

"My father told me to stay away from the place." Adam protests as Nigel half carrying and half dragging him towards the Meadow. 

"I'll watch your back, darling." Nigel assures him. 

When the young stag steps out from the shadow of the trees at the edge of the woods, he gives a gasp of amazement. The wild green field is dotted with endless yellow and white dandelions. 

Nigel leads them both to a nice spot well shaded by long grasses. He flops himself down on the ground lazily, runs his fingers through his messy hair, then looks up at Adam expectantly. Adam, still feeling uncertain about all these, looks around and behind him twice again with unsettled eyes, before lying on the grass stiffly next to Nigel's body. A lull of gentle breeze touches the tips of grass. Adam takes in the fresh, grassy smell in the air and the sounds of birds chirping nearby, eventually he relaxes. Adam looks up at the blue sky above him. The combination of warm sun rays shining on his body and cool grass tickling his back under him makes him feel very pleasant. 

Hearing his satisfied humming noise, Nigel grins. He rolls over and starts pecking little kisses on the young stag's cheeks until Adam giggles and pleads him to stop with a very cute voice, and the mountain stag obeys, reluctantly. Playfully, he reaches out his hand, plucking a few white, fluffy spheres from the grass, and adorns the flowers on Adam's velvety antlers. He then leans back to admire his own work, the canine teeth of his flash in the crack of his lips when he chuckles at Adam's blushing face.

"Hello, gorgeous." Nigel says. "You are so cute, Adam." 

_He is SO fluffy and beautiful and adorable, his sweet Adam_

, Nigel feels his heart skip a beat.

"I am not cute, Nigel. I'm a grown up." Adam narrows his eyes and pouts.

In return, he picks and gathers a handful of yellow dandelion flowers from around him, then twists and twines them on Nigel's set of antlers in imitation. 

"Tell me I'm cute, Adam!" Nigel chuckles, "Come on! I want to hear it..." 

The two stags soon begin tackling each other playfully on the ground. Despite his obvious lack of skills and experience in mock fighting, Adam is surprisingly strong. Nigel muses to himself when Adam rolls and sits on top of him with a victorious smile, his hands being pinned in mischief beside his head. Some of Adam's longer curls touches Nigel's nose as Adam leans forward. Nigel's eyes flutter and remain closed when he feels the gentle touch of Adam's lips on his forehead.

Opening his eyes again and looking up in pleasure, Nigel watches Adam's face coming into focus. The younger stag is looking down at him with the warmest sun shining directly from behind, his blue eyes wide and watery and bottom lip trembling slightly. Staring at Adam and rendered speechless, Nigel knows that he would never forget this sight. There are moments in life that ought to be treasured forever, and this is one of those moments. He props himself up on his elbow, and places a soft, wet kiss on Adam's lips. 

They stare at each other in awe for a long while, until a cry of warning startles them both. 

The woods go silent in a flash except for the swishing of the wind and random cries from three nervous hawks circling the sky. Alerted, Nigel sits up immediately, he perks up his ears and listens carefully. One of his strong arms wraps instinctively around the young stag's waist, tightening when he catches a waft of scent in the air. 

Triggered by the scent, fragments of horrifying memories surface in his mind - memories filled with blood, pain, anger and his own fucking screams. 

"Human..." There is a flash of fear in Nigel's widened brown eyes that Adam has never seen before. 

"Nigel?" Adam gulps, unsure what to do. 

Without taking his eyes off from a single point between two faraway trees, Nigel nudges Adam to stand up quietly with him while remaining low near the ground surface, taking cover from the longer grasses around them.

Adam's breath hitches, he feels weak and dizzy as his heart starts to race in his chest. He stumbles forward to grasp at Nigel's arm. It's the worst moment to have an anxiety fit, Adam panics. By now Nigel is familiar with the signs of a coming nervous break down from his darling Adam. Every time he sees Adam shudder in pain helplessly during an attack, Nigel feels a tuck in his heart.

"Adam, darling, focus on my voice," Nigel says, trying to suppress his voice as much as possible and to get the attention from Adam at the same time. "breath - you can do it, Adam."

Nigel palms the young stag's face, letting the warmth from his large hands seep into Adam's skin. His forehead leans forward and touches with Adam's, a gesture that almost always manages to calm Adam down. Adam bites his lips, his eyes squeezed shut as he tries to regulate his own breathing, attempt to slow down his racing heartbeats. Sensory overloaded, his hands coming up automatically to shield the world against himself. 

"Adam! When I tell you to run, you run." Nigel says in Adam's ear with an urgent voice, "Adam, darling...Trust me, please just trust me, alright?" 

Adam frantically nods and shakes his head. Nigel swallows a lump in his throat. 

When the moment comes, Nigel pushes Adam towards the woods. 

"Go! Now!" Nigel's nerves tenses as he orders, "Run! Adam!"

A mountain stag can easily outrun a forest stag, but Nigel regulates his pace so that he can run alongside Adam. Adam's hooves almost slip out from under him for a few times, but he miraculously manages to keep up. 

"Don't look back! Keep running! Keep running!" Nigel encourages him as they rushes among the trees. 

The trees are getting more sparse and thinning out. Adam panics again, he recognises where they are as the perilous drop to the deep valley comes into view. 

"I - I - I can't do it," Adam says in between short breaths, he looks at Nigel with pleading eyes.

"Yes, you can -" Nigel encourages him. "I know you can - darling."

He's almost there, Adam closes his eyes in fear.

"Keep your eyes open!" Nigel yells, "Adam!"

At a short distance from the edge of the cliff, Adam jumps up - _High_ in the air. 

Time seems to have slowed down. Nigel arches his neck, his eyes tenderly on Adam as the young stag leaps into the air with surprising elegance and grace over the large ravine. 

_Fuck, what a jump_ , Nigel beams proudly. Adam is the most beautiful creature he has ever seen.

When he lands face first on the other side rather inelegantly but unharmed, Adam chokes and pants on the ground on all fours. 

It's like flying, he has never made a jump like that, Adam screams in his head. 

"Adam! Keep running!" Upon hearing Nigel's call, Adam's eyes refocus and he's back to himself.

With all his strength, Adam crawls to stand himself back up. He whips his head around just in time to see Nigel dashing forward in full speed, and lunges into the air off the edge, leaping off from the ground like a predator. 

A sudden, loud noise rings in Adam's ears, and the younger stag feels all his blood freezes involuntarily. It happens so fast. Before Adam can register what has happened, all he hears is the sound of a pained grunt and a curse. He can only watch as the mountain stag slips and falls into the dark and angry stream below. 

"Nigel!" Adam's scream echoes in the deep ravine. "Nigel!" 

_Adam! Keep running!_

Remembering Nigel's words, Adam struggles forward. Tears are blocking his vision, for a moment he stumbles, but he gets up and keeps running.

When Adam finally makes it back to the safety of the cave, he is exhausted. 

...

A white dandelion falls onto the ground and disintegrates, and Adam cannot stop crying.

...

Adam walks stealthily along the river bank, trying hard not to trip on his hooves among the slippery pebbles.

After getting over the initial shock, after rocking himself back and forth sitting on the ground for a long, long while, the moment Adam manages to stand and walk properly, he rushes out to search for Nigel along the stream where he disappeared from.

Off searching for Nigel is not logical, Adam knows he's better wait for Nigel back in the cave, but then when it is almost nightfall, and Nigel is still missing, Adam gets worried.

It's getting dark, Adam contemplates the possibility that he might find nothing at all, or worse, he might find Nigel's body, or parts of his body.

When Adam spots a dark figure lying facedown in shallow water, he utters a surprised but relived cry. "Nigel?"

Nigel is a survivor, and of course he'll do pretty much anything to stay alive.

"Nigel!" Adam rushes to the mountain stag's side.

Half of Nigel's face is covered in blood oozing from a grazing wound on his cheek, Adam winces at how deep the cut is. When he scans his body for other signs of surface wounds, he covers his mouth in shock. On Nigel's body, there are points of thorns sticking all over his back and his behind near his tail.

"Ad-Adam?" Nigel pries open his eyes and manages a faint smile. "...darling...is that you?"

"Are you-Are you okay, Nigel?" Adam asks, concerned.

"Peachy." Nigel manages a laugh, "Just got fucking thorns in my ass...shiiit."

"I thought you are dead, Nigel." Adam sobs.

After dragging the mountain stag out of the water to dry land, Adam begins checking Nigel's body for bone injuries with careful fingers.

"You won't get rid of me that easy." Nigel mutters, he tries to touch Adam's face, but his fingers are all sore. "Ouch!...'til death do us fucking part, darling."

Adam glares at his face briefly, before returning his concentration on Nigel's body. Adam's hand accidentally brushes a particularly sharp excrescence sticking on his ass cheek, Nigel hisses and growls.

"Fuck!" Nigel feels the sharp sting when Adam plucks the thorn out from his fur, but after the pain, comes the warmth and wetness of the younger stag's tongue as he laps up the blood welling up from the wound, and it doesn't feel that bad. "I got lucky back there, if not for the fucking bush and thorns, I wouldn't have survived the fall."

Adam sighs as he realises how many thorns are left on his body to be treated, but he patiently continues. He tries his best picking out the thorns as gently as possible, bends down, and licks the wounds clean one by one methodically.

Due to maybe his own exhaustion, or the blood loss, or his trust in Adam, or just the comfortable sensation of having Adam licking him all over, Nigel's mind lets go and eventually dips into unconsciousness.

It takes a long time, but Adam manages to clear all the sharp thorns that got stuck in Nigel's fur.

Adam carefully lifts Nigel's heavy head to rest on his lap. He observes the peaceful and trusting expression on the older stag's sleeping face, and he smiles gently.

When Adam can't resist bending down for a taste of the blood on the tip of Nigel's nose, his closed eyes miss the slight raise of the corner of the mountain stag's lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nigel, I'm sorry XD.


	5. Chapter 5

_He is almost there, almost._

The enticing scent of summer berries in the air begins to build as they ripen, Adam licks his lips. 

The young stag is standing under a bush on the tip of his hooves with his arms stretched high above his head, his fingers reaching for a high branch heavy with clusters of red, juicy berries. The branch keeps swaying in the wind, Adam bites his lips in frustration. 

It is when a pair of muscular arms reaches from behind him, grabbing the tip the branch and pulling it downwards. Adam freezes for a brief second before he feels the familiar warmth of Nigel placing a kiss on his temple. A faint blush creeps across his face and he smiles sheepishly, his arms slowly fall to his sides. 

"What are you doing here, wee fawn?" Nigel grins, a small twig playfully balanced in between his lips. 

"What are you doing here, Nigel?" Adam raises his eyebrows, he turns his face towards the direction of the mountain stag while his eyes remain downcast. Nigel has more or less recovered from all the injuries, but he still has a very slight limp on his left leg that only Adam would notice. 

Adam doesn't expect Nigel to return that soon. Nigel disappears occasionally to hunt big preys alone. He tries inviting Adam too, offering to teach the young stag hunt, but Adam declines his offer politely, still a bit haunted by the horrifying incident at the Meadow. 

"Ahh- I fucking miss you, Adam." Nigel purrs. 

The mountain stag wraps his arms tight around the smaller frame, his nostrils flaring as he takes in the pleasant scent. Adam can hear steady thumping of the strong heart as his head is nestled against the hairy chest. 

"But it has only been...three days?" Adam shyly smiles.

"I still fucking miss you." Nigel declares.

Upon hearing a low growl from the younger stag's stomach, Nigel giggles low. He pecks a kiss on his forehead before releasing Adam from his obsessive scenting. 

A gentle breeze starts to blow as the two stags make their way to a nearby tree, they sit by the trunk and begins sharing the food. The hungry forest stag watches Nigel's clever fingers expertly twisting the cluster off of the branch, then strip the berries from the cluster. 

"Wow." Adam beams at the berries cupped in Nigel's palms, "Thank you, Nigel."

As Adam pops one of the berries into his mouth, he is pleasantly surprised by how good it tastes. He chews methodically, but as if he's trying to suppress a smile, the corner of his mouth twitches.

"You are welcome, darling." says Nigel. 

He watches Adam eat with intense interest. Adam closes his eyes, savouring the taste on his tongue, unaware that a small trail of juice is dribbling slowly down his own chin. The juice is bright red in colour, it looks like as if Adam has blood dripping down from the corner of his mouth like a murderous little rabbit - It's fucking _adorable_ , and oddly...arousing.

Nigel's breath catches. Inside him, something clicks, and his heart beats fast... _Adam, his Adam, is so fucking adorable_ , Nigel swallows. He reaches out his hand and tips Adam's chin up so that he can see the startled blue eyes as he leans in to lick away the red stain from the corner of the young stag's lips. 

His Adam tastes sweet and tart, delicious, Nigel contently hums. 

"Stop it..." Adam tries to suppress his giggles, but he can't hold the smile on his lips. 

Nigel curls his hand around the back of the forest stag's head, his fingers twisting in the soft, dark brown curls, before pressing their foreheads together affectionately with a feral grin. 

“Adam, darling, I want to show you something." says Nigel, "We have to go on a long walk before we get there. The adventure will be yours and mine today." 

Adam, still looking confused, tilts his head and blinks. 

"Finish your breakfast." Nigel chuckles. 

—

 

This is a short one inspired by Rabbit Eating Strawberries & Cherries - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru__6sQ_bpE) //It's basically Will Graham...right!?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **A Summer Adventure of Nigel!Stag and Adam!Stag - A chapter for #SpacedogsSummer @hannibalcreative**

Bees love wild flowers in the mid-summer meadow, it's not only a symphony of resonating joy for bees, but also for the woodland stag who is sitting and watching them intently nearby. The patch of expansive meadow is dotted with incredible wild flowers surrounding a gorgeous turquoise lake. Little bluebells, ink trumpets and white daises splash vibrant colours across the landscape that seem too beautiful to be real.

It's a gorgeous sight that Adam may never know exists if not for Nigel. When Nigel has mentioned travelling again, Adam groans and wants to refuse immediately, but he changes his mind as he sees the flash of disappointment in the mountain stag's expectant face. He has never been to other woodlands alone, as a matter of fact, he's never travelled much in his whole life, one reason being that nobody in the herd wanted to invite Adam to go with them on any kind of adventures, another reason being that Adam gets anxious in unfamiliar surroundings very easily. He is relieved to find himself feeling significantly less unpleasant when he steps out from the familiar grounds of his woods with Nigel as his anchor by his side.

Adam would love to tell Nigel everything he knows about bees, but the mountain stag has gone off to 'cool off' in the water after their lovely midday meal that includes an assortment of mushrooms, peaches, apricots and colourful berries. Adam's eyes watches the white light shimmering on the water of the lake, his gaze following the movement of the silhouette of his mate.

Nigel, after enjoying a long dip in the cool crystal clear water, he takes a deep breath and slides beneath the surface for one last time. He can sense the movement of some big fucking fish swimming away from him, he wonders if Adam would like to have a few of them for dinner. Adam is very picky and stubborn when it comes to food, different kinds of food must not touch each other when he eats them, and in his eyes all fluffy looking cute little animals are friends not food. 

When Nigel emerges from the surface again, water streams down his well toned body, a tantalising sight for Adam if not for the fact that he has wet unkempt hair plastering on his forehead in the most silly way. Adam widens his eyes, his lips obviously suppressing a grin. Nigel wipes away the water dripping down his face and raises his eyebrows at him. 

"Adam, darling, are you sure you don't want to take a dip?" Nigel asks, he flops down with a thump next to Adam after shaking excess water out of his fur.

"Yes, I am sure, Nigel." Adam says, frowning. "It's not bath time yet."

Certain routines has to be exactly the same, Adam's insistence on it is odd, but Nigel understands, so he just pouts and shrugs half-heartedly. In one motion Nigel rolls on top of Adam in mischief, his strong arm caging the smaller stag against his own cool body. Adam scrunches his nose and giggles as he feels cold water from the wet stag dripping on his skin. The air is filled with Nigel's strong, spicy scent, it's not unpleasant, rather it's calming and comforting, and it makes Adam feel loved and safe. 

"See, it feels nice doesn't it?" Nigel asks.

He plants a soft kiss against the tip of Adam's nose while intentionally brushing more water onto Adam's body, dampening his dark fur. Adam giggles more and nods. 

Nigel notices that his eyes are still looking at his hair. Curious, he narrows his eyes.

"What are you looking at dear?" Nigel asks.

The younger stag reaches out his hand and threads his fingers in Nigel's hair, twisting the long end into a small bun. 

"Your hair...it's...longer now." Adam says and smiles shyly. "You look...nice."

Nigel watches the way Adam consciously makes the effort to look into his eyes, and he feels a warmth welling up in his chest. 

It didn't take long for him to figure out that eye contact makes Adam uncomfortable. When Adam told him how his herd used to tease him a lot for his 'rudeness' of not looking into others' eyes during conversations, Nigel almost wanted to hit something. He reassures Adam that nobody in the fucking world has the fucking right to force him into do anything he doesn't feel comfortable doing, and there is no need for him to do anything extra except being himself.

Feeling the urge to express his adoration, Nigel stands and strolls off. Holding a huge bunch of wildflowers plucked from the field in his arms, Nigel kneels down next to Adam. There are certainly an assortment of colours and shapes, Adam watches him picking out the best looking ones, twisting and twining them together, then putting it on his head as well as on his cute little, stubby antlers. Nigel's not good with delicate things, the crooked almost-flower crown is not perfect, nor is it artistic at all, but his tender display of endearment makes Adam blushes a little. 

With the hope of returning the favour, Adam chooses the ones he likes the most from the remaining beautiful blooms. Using his steady hands and clever fingers, he makes them into a perfect flower crown, before placing it carefully on Nigel's head. He licks his lips and reaches his arm high above his head in order to twine some particularly lovely bluebells and white, fluffy dandelions onto Nigel's gorgeous set of antlers. Adam possesses extraordinary talent when he focuses his mind. Nigel looks at him, hauntingly intrigued with the gleam in his eyes.

“ _My dear Adam is so adorable._ Nigel thinks to himself, and whispers, "What the fuck have I done to deserve you?” 

He pulls Adam towards him emotionally with a force that almost startles Adam. The mountain stag leans forward, and presses a kiss on his forehead. He eventually moves downwards, his face nuzzles the crook of his neck affectionately, scenting the younger stag, and Adam blushes more. 

They are both pretty tired after their morning hike. The sun above is shining a little too brightly with the clouds gone away, their skin feels heated and feverish, fortunately the wind begins blowing an unusual, frigid summer breeze throughout the mountainous landscape and it makes them both feel warm and comfortable in each other's arms. 

Lying on the ground, surrounded by brightly coloured flowers, the two stags inch closer to each other, seemingly without even realising it, drawn to each other like magnets, and stare at each other’s mouths like they are seconds away from devouring each other. When Adam yawns suddenly, Nigel smiles his trademark wolfish grin, and he tucks Adam's head against his hairy chest.

Their breaths leave them peacefully when they drowse off to sleep. 

...

Clouds swirl in the darkening sky and a fog rolls off the lake as the sunset glows over the water with blood red colour, a chorus of sounds breaks forth as the crickets begin to chirp and flowers close their petals. After waking from their afternoon nap, the two stags walks side by side along the lake shore patiently until they find the perfect, safe spot to rest for the night. 

One of Adam's obsessive hobbies is building things, and he's very good at it. By the time Nigel returns with a handful of fish from the lake, he has already finished building their shelter using simply some branches leant against a giant rock. He places a huge pile of leaves under the structure, the make-shift den seems comfortable enough when Adam crawls into the middle of it. It can let both of them stay warm and dry until the next morning. 

"You're fucking amazing, Adam." Nigel inspects their make-shift den, praises and pats his mate's back approvingly. 

Adam, in turn, stares at the perfectly cleaned and skewered fishes on forked branch in Nigel's hands in awe. His father has taught him how to fish when he was young, he still has fond memories of their time together. 

The younger stag grins, "We are having fish for dinner."

Adam watches with curious fascination as Nigel begins preparing the food. He inserts the end of the branches and props the fishes onto the soft ground before he answers, "Yes, we are, darling."

Without hesitation, Nigel gives Adam the best three of his catch, and Adam accepts them gladly. His blue eyes narrow with pleasure as he takes a tentative bite. Nigel's catch is the best fish Adam has ever had in his life. The fishes are so juicy and their meat so tender, they tastes nothing like the ones that live in the stream near Adam's cave. 

...

It's completely dark by the time they've finished the food. 

Nigel's eyes quickly adjust to the darkness. His hooves unconsciously tapping the ground as he looks around nervously searching for something in the dark. He has brought Adam here for a reason, he is determined to take Adam here after he ended up in this gorgeous landscape the other day. He hopes he won't get disappointed for all his efforts in planning this little adventure with Adam.

Adam's mind, on the other hand, is still occupied in telling Nigel enthusiastically about bees. When he finally manages to read something similar to 'agitation' in Nigel's restless body language, he thinks the stag has been properly bored by his long talk, again.

"Have– Have you heard too much about bees?" He apologises, 

Nigel takes Adam's hand, places a kiss on the knuckles before twining their fingers together. 

"Never." Nigel says. 

A flash of light comes and goes in the space of a second. 

Alerted, Adam stands and stare into the dark void, confused. There are something in the dark. His large ears flickers and flattens against his head. He's unaware of Nigel's intense gaze on him that is anxiously observing his reactions. When Adam registers what is going on, his eyes widens and his jaw slightly drops. 

"Oh," Adam exhales a soft sigh.

There are fireflies in the meadow everywhere. 

It begins with one, then two, then tens and hundreds of little yellow blinking lights starts sparking in the dark, their numbers and the brightness increase minute by minute. Some of them takes off from the grass and dances in the air. Random yellow lights flicker here and there, one by one, signalling to one another in out of place synchronisation.

Rendered speechless, Adam whips around, his eyes darting up and down following movements of the lights, overwhelmed and mesmerised. Adam catches one of the bugs and holds it loosely in his fist, watching the multicoloured light blinking between his fingers with fascination. He releases it and it flies lazily away into the dark.

Standing among the field of fireflies is like standing among the stars themselves, and being able to reach out and touch them. It's like the stars are now within reach and everything is so beautiful that Adam almost forgets to breath. Something suddenly clicks together in Adam's mind, and he covers his mouth in shock. He now understands why Nigel insists on bringing him to a place that is so far away from his cave. 

Adam turns to Nigel and says in trembling voice. "You remember..." 

During their first stargazing trip at the woodland clearing, Adam told Nigel casually that he wishes to touch the stars even though he knows he can't.

 ** _"I wish I could touch the stars and hold them in my hand."_**

Adam never expects anybody to remember what he says in his entire life, tears threaten to well up in his eyes.

"I knew that you'd fucking love it." Nigel tilts his head and grins, enjoying the sheer delight radiating from his precious Adam. 

Standing in the sea of blinking stars, it feels too much like a dream, it's way too perfect to be true. He feels Nigel's large hand reaches out to cup his cheek, his thumb slides across Adam's cheek brushing away a tear. 

"It's...It's beautiful." Adam murmurs in awe. 

Nigel chuckles softly and places a hand at the back of the smaller stag's head, waiting for the right moment to pull Adam in and slips his tongue pass his lips. 

"I, um...Thank you...I love you, Nig—" Adam's thank you speech is cut off as Nigel bows his head to capture his mouth with his own. 

Adam lets out a soft moan and his eyes flutter close. _He's so fucking cute_ , Nigel screams inside his head.

"I fucking love you too, Adam." he mumbles with his mouth hovering over Adam's deliciously close.

_The fucking love, the fucking love._

Nigel's insane obsession and possessiveness over this adorable little forest stag is getting illogical, and possibly already out of control, but the thing is, he doesn't fucking care.

 

—

Nigel is still playfully kissing and nuzzling into the back of Adam's neck as they walk down the gentle slope that leads to the lake. He leaps into the water first when they get there, almost too eagerly. Without the sun, the water is no longer lukewarm, it's not icy cold but just cold, clean and clear. In water waist deep, he turns and looks back at Adam. Nigel shakes his head and laughs in disbelief.

The younger stag is pouting, contemplating if he should skip the bath. He keeps testing the temperature of the water repeatedly, pawing the wet sand and pebbles with his little hoof. Bathing is not the most exciting of tasks in general for Adam, but he quite enjoy the feeling of being clean, so after he finally works up the courage to step into the lake, he squeezes his eyes shut and jumps into the water with a run. The bottom of the lake is sandy but not muddy, but his hooves still mange to slip on it, a tiny whine escapes him and he inhales sharply through his nose before his head goes under water.

Nigel is immediately by his side with his protective arm loops around the thin waist, waiting patiently for the forest stag to calm down enough to stand. Gasping for air, Adam waves his hands frantically around him until he realises he is actually still in very shallow water. Soaking wet from the tip of his stubby antlers, Adam shakes his head to get rid of water in his big rounded ears. The water is not as uncomfortably cold as it looks, he relaxes and gives Nigel an embarrassed half smile. 

A full moon appears from behind the clouds, casting a white sheen on the lake. For a long moment, they stand still in the water, eyeing each other with cautious glances. Adam still doesn't look Nigel directly in the eye, but there is a mischief glint in his blue eyes whenever he casts his gaze towards him. The mountain stag gives him a feral grin, all teeth and glinting eyes, his eyes crinkle at the corners as he smirks. 

They both laugh as the inevitable splash fight breaks out amid the otherwise serene lake. Both stags begins launching handfuls of water frantically at each other. Since Adam has an advantage with his smaller stature, he ends up less soaked. In retaliation, Nigel jumps at him and pulls him down in the water. The two of them falls over as they wrestle playfully. When they stand up again, the two just blinks and laughs while vigorously shaking their dampened fur and hair dry. 

It's not very effective considering that they both are still waist-deep in water. Nigel curls two gentle fingers around Adam's chin and tilts his face upward, firmly presses their mouths together. His fingers kneading the cute ears and the back of his neck. His two large palm wraps around Adam's neck, cupping the forest stag's face. It sends electric surges through the both of them and their lips part in pleasure. 

Adam's hands reaches out, wanting to hold onto Nigel's waist, but instead, his fingers touches something else underwater. Something _hard_. His hand quickly retreats in surprise. He feels his face heats up all of a sudden, and he looks away.

"Oh." Adam gasps, wide-eyed. 

Nigel instinctively takes a step back, as they say in unison, "I'm sorry!" 

"I'm sorry...Adam, I just can't fucking control it sometimes." Nigel's deep accented voice murmurs in an apologetic tone that Adam has never heard from him before. "I'll understand if...you don't want to be with me anymore. I'll fucking go if you ask me to."

After getting over the initial surprise, Adam returns his gaze to the miserable mountain stag. He's unsure what to say, so he bites his lip instead. Nigel's downcast deep-set eyes take a peek at Adam's expression.

"Adam? Darling?" he calls quietly to Adam as a wave of panic washes over him, his defeated eyes searching Adam's face for clues. "Please, please say something, anything..."

"Um..." Adam frowns and blinks at Nigel blankly, he licks his lips twice before beginning again, "Are you excited...sexually?"

_...What did he just say?_

Nigel stands in stunned silence hearing words that he never expected to hear from the sweet Adam, his lips parted in shock.

Looking confused, Nigel mutters under his breath. "What? Um- ...Yes?" 

"Oh okay, great." Adam nods and says, sounding very relieved. "Well, I ask because I am, and I wonder if you are too."

"Fuck." Nigel inaudibly curses.

"Do you, um–do you want sex?" Adam asks seriously with the most innocent face.

With a wide grin on his face, Nigel chuckles darkly, "I think I do...No, I fucking do, Adam."

With Nigel's approval, Adam doesn't hesitate to close their distance in the water and takes Nigel's member in his hand. He sucks his lips into his mouth trying not to smile as Nigel moans quite loudly and rocks his hips in reflex. His own breathing quickens when Nigel reaches out to cup his cute butt, lifting him slightly up in the buoyancy of the water, and his long fingers intentionally tickling his stubby tail. While he is momentarily distracted, Nigel takes Adam's cock into his other hand, and Adam feels him bringing their erections together in the water. With his large hand wrapping around Adam's smaller one, Nigel begins rubbing and stroking both of them together, their bodies humping and rocking against each other under the delicious friction and pressure. 

Nigel feels every muscle on his body tenses as the sweet tension slowly builds up, he brushes his lips over Adam's dampened temple and increases the pace of their strokes, earning an urgent whine from the smaller stag's reddened lips. They are barely able to kiss as they find a mutual rhythm and reach climax almost together. Tightly holding on to each other's shoulders, the two stags pant against the heated skin at the base of their necks. They can feel their own heart beat as they begin to relax in the aftermath of pleasure, their lower body still pressing against each other underwater.

...

By the time their hair and fur are dry enough to sleep on, they are both very, very tired. They lie in the dark for a while, breathing in the quiet. When it comes to physical affection with Nigel, Adam is extremely needy. He used to avoid any kind of physical contact with other stags, but after meeting Nigel, Adam finds that he really likes getting close to him but him only. Sometimes he actually craves the intimacy, the hugging, cuddling, kissing, mutual massaging... Adam exhales a content sigh in the warmth and safety of Nigel's protective arms, and Nigel draws him in even closer. 

_It's been one fucking amazing adventure_ , Nigel smiles to himself. 

Meanwhile, the moon has disappeared and stars begin to appear in the summer night sky. The two stags curl up into the contours of each others' bodies in their temporary den, and eventually drift off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the awesome Hannistag AU created by @camilleflyingrotten (http://flyingrottenhannistag.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I'm on Tumblr too :D [@vulcanplomeeksoup](http://vulcanplomeeksoup.tumblr.com) Come chat with me about Hannibal !


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